Miami Heat President Pat Riley still believes in center Hassan Whiteside as a franchise player

MIAMI – Heat President Pat Riley doubled down on center Hassan Whiteside and his ability to be “an integral part of winning” and a force on both ends of the court.

“I love Hassan,” Riley said. “We would not have invested in Hassan Whiteside if we didn’t believe that he could be an integral part of winning, a force on defense and rebounding, (from) an offensive standpoint. There still are parts of his game that he has to work on and how he incorporates his game with teammates.”

Riley was asked about the times coach Erik Spoelstra abruptly has removing Whiteside from games because of a lack of effort, which has happened at least three times.

“When you’re a professional basketball player, I don’t care who you are, there’s a quick substitution, you deal with it as a professional,” Riley said. “There’s are nights over there where I talk to myself under my breath and I say, ‘Get him out of there.’ Not (Whiteside). I could say that about 15 players. That’s my coaching instinct. ‘Give him a rest. Give him a blow. Let him settle down. Bring him back in.’

“Being accountable as a franchise player is an all of the time thing and one of the most difficult things in this league to do as a great talent, where a franchise, a city and your teammates depend on you every night to bring to it.

“This is not saying that he doesn’t but to bring that every single night that in itself is a skill. That I think he is really getting an understanding of as to what his responsibilities are. When I think he plays the way that he plays some nights, we can be unbeatable.”

Whiteside, 27, signed a four-year, $98 million contract last summer. He leads the league with 14.1 rebounds per game and is averaging 16.8 points and 2.1 blocks.